Planing-machine



0. L. STADIG.

PLANING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED DI-c..29, 1917.

1920 3 SHEETS-SHEET l.

Patented Apr. 20,

0. L. STADIG.

PLANING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 29, I9I7.

Patented Apr. 20, 1920.

3v SHEETS-SHEET 2.

S awfvl? O. L. STADIG.

KLANING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILI-:D III-5c. 29, I'9Iz.

Patented Apr. 20, 1920.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

uw n uw E* h. Nv m W n@ QW OLQF L. STADIG, OF ST. FRANCIS, MAINE.

PLANING-MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. ao, ieao.

Application led December 29, 1917. Serial No. 209,430.

To all wlw/1t 'it may conce/'af Be it known that I, @Lor L. STADIG, a citizen of the United States, residing at St. Francis, in the county of Aroostook and State of Maine, have invented new and useful improvements in planing-Machines, of which the following is a specification.

The object of the present invention is to provide an improved machine for removing the bark from billets of log wood that are Ato be used in the manufacture of pulp. One of the principal features of the invention is the arrangement of the operating devices whereby the bark may be removed with the least waste of wood stock that is desired for pulp. Another feature is the arrangement of devices whereby the bark-removing operation may be performed rapidly with a view to making the capacity of the machine as great as possible.

Before describing the details of the machine I shall describe in general the principal features of structure and operation. A billet from which the bark is to be removed is mounted upon a carriage so that its axis will be substantially horizontal. The cutting tool is brought to bear upon Ithe upper side of the billet; and is preferably of the rotary type, and driven at a high speed, as is customary in rotary planers that are used for operating upon flat stock. lVhile the billet is mounted upon the carriage the latter is reciprocatednsothat the billet will move in lines parallel to its aXis.

The carriage is provided with means for rotating the billet step-by-step about its aXis, the rotative movements being` caused to occur after each traverse of the carriage so that the cutter or cutters will operate upon the bark asmuch when the carriage is moving in one direction as when it is moving in the opposite direction. In order to cause such rotary movement of the billet I provide `the carriage with two pairs of spur-wheels grec, the spurs of the wheels being arranged fto engage the' bark and to turn the billet positively. l

0f the accompanying drawings which illustrate my present invention in what l now consider the preferred form,

Figure l represents a side elevation of one end of the machine or apparatus, including a billet mounted upon a feed carriage in positi'on to undergo the operation of the cutters. In the present instance the machine is provided with two rotary cutter-heads and the latter are arranged in tandem so as to be capable of removing conjointly a course of bark Itwice as long as the traverse of the carriage.

Fig. 2 represents a perspective view of portion of the treadle mechanism by which the cutter-heads are retracted from operative position.

Fig. 3 represents a perspective view of the clutch-controlling mechanism by which the power may be disconnected from the traverse mechanism when the cutter-heads are retracted.

Fig. 4 represents a top plan view of the mechanism included in Fig. l.

Fig. 5 represents an elevation similar to Fig. l but showing the mechanism at the opposite end of the machine or apparatus, vthe billet of wood, and the greater portion of the feed carraige being duplicated..

These two figures may be read conjointly by placing them in end to end relation with F ig. 1 at the left and Fig. 5 at the right.

Fig. 6 represents an end elevation of the feed carriage looking from right to left.

F ig. 7 represents an elevation, on a larger' scale of the left hand cutter head.

Fig. 8 represents an elevation of said cutterhead as viewed from right to left, the guard or shoe that bears upon the bark being shown in section. y

Fig. 9 represents a top plan view ofthe guard or shoe that traverses the bark to determine the depth of cut.

' F ig". 10 represents a perspective `view of .a movable frame for discharging the billet from the feed carriage.

rlhe same reference characters indicate 'the same parts wherever they occur. A log or remove the bark throughout the entire length to the billet.

of four feet, I provide two rotary cutterheads 11, 11, and arrange the latter in tandem relation two feet apart from center to center. Thus while one cutter-head is removing a course of bark from one end of the billet to the middle the other removes the bark from the middle to the other end.

The feed carriage is provided with grooved wheels 12 and the latter run on tracks 13. Connecting rod 14 is pivotally connected at one end to the carriage, and at the other end'to a crank 15. This crank is aixed 'to shaft 1 6 that is driven through the medium of a disconnectible clutch hereinafter described.

The feed carriage is )rovided with two pairs of spur-wheels 1l?, each of which wheels is provided with a series of spurs 18 projecting radially from its periphery. These wheels are mounted upon two shafts 19, and are arranged to forni a trough, as shown by Fig. 6, into .which the billet is laid, so that its axis will be substantiallyv parallel to the lines of traverse of the carriage. The cutter-heads 11 are arranged in vertical alinen'ient with the center of the trough formed by the spur wheels.

As the carriage is completing its traverse in each direction the spur wheels are turned a few degrees all in one direction, to turn the billet onits axis, so that during each traverse the cutter heads will remove a new course of bark. The change of direction of traverse is immaterial so far 'as the cutting operation is concerned, because the speed of the cutters is much greater than the speed of traverse. I utilize the traverse motion of the carriage to effect the step-by-step rotary feed of the billet, which rotary feed may be called cross-feed because it is analogous to the usual cross-feed used in planing machines and in lathes.

Each shaft 19 is provided with a bevel gear 20. These two gears mesh with bevel gears 21, 21, mounted upon a transverse shaft 22. A ratchet wheel 23 is affixed to this shaft.y A lever 24 is loosely mounted upon this same shaft, and is provided with a pawl 25 that engages the teeth of the ratchet wheel. The lower portion of lever 24 is normally held against the back stop 26 by means of a tension spring 27. The back stop is an adjustable screw vand the normal position of the lever may be changed by moving the screw forward or back. When the feed carriage 10 is moving from left to right and has all but reached the end of its traverse, the upper portion of the lever 24 is arrested by astop 28 so that a short additional traverse movement will result in angular motion of the lever in a counter-clockwise direction, the pawl 25 thereby acting upon the ratchet wheel to turn the shaft 22 and 'thereby turn the spur wheels to impart the desired rotary motion When the feed carriage begins to move in the opposite direction the lever 24 is returned to its back stop 26 by spring 27 and when the carriage,'now moving from right to left, has all but reached its left hand limit of motion the lower portion of lever 24 is .arrested by a stop 29.

This stop being diametrically opposite stop 28 with reference to lthe axis of the lever, also produces counter-clockwise motion of the lever in consequence of the slight additional traverse of the carriage, and the ratchet wheel is thereby given a slight rotary motion to again turn the billet on its axis. The billet is thus turned step-by-step in one direction regardless of the direction of traverse of the feed carriage.-

In the meantime the cutter-heads rest upon the billet and remove the bark in y courses, the width of which is determinedv lever 24 to the back stop. In the majorityr of cases it would be expedient to adjust the back stop so as to require about twenty-four steps to turn the billet through one complete cycle. It will be understood, however. that a greater or less number of steps would be desirable according towhether the diameter of the billet were large or small, the principal consideration being to remove the bark without removing an appreciable quantity of the fiber of the wood.

The carriage is provided with a device for discharging the billet, said device being arranged to be operated manually. Referring toFigs. 6 and 10 the discharging device comprises a U-shaped frame B the ends of which are mounted upon pivots 30. This frame is arranged to underlie the billet as shown by Fig. 6, and the left hand portion' is connected by a link 31 tol 'a treadle 32. This treadle is mounted upon a fulcrum pin I33, and projects from the side of the carriage far enough to enable the attendant `to depress the outer endv and thereby raise the frame. In order to cause the billet to roll toward the opposite side of the carriage the U-shaped frame is provided with pieces 34,

lthe upper ledges 'of which are inclined relato lift the billet slightly7 above thespurs ofthe right band wheels 1T. The billet is therefore enabled to roll down the inclined track provided by the U-shaped frame and to drop from the right hand side of the car-1 construction and arrangement and a description of one will be sufficient for both. Each cutter-head comprises a block to which a series of cutters are affixed. The head is aflixed to a driven' shaft 36. This shaft is mounted in suitable bearings at the free ends of arms 37. Two arms 37 are provided for each cutter head and form a frame, said frame being mounted to rock upon a shaft 38 so that the cutter-head may be lifted from the billet whenever necessary. The arms 37 have extensions 39 at the opposite side of the shaft 387 said extensions being preferably connected by a tie rod 40 for the sake of rigidity and being provided with counter weights 4l. rlhe function of the counter weights is to facilitatethe lifting of the cutter-heads, although the aggregate counter weighing is not sufficient in itself to lift the cutter-heads. The latter rest normally by gravity upon the billet. and require manual effort through mechanism hereinafter described to raise them from the billet.

Referring to Figs. l and 5 it will be observed that there are two shafts 38, and that the arms 37 extend toward each other from said shafts. These shafts are driven continuously. and although the tilting frames that carry -the cutter-heads are mounted upon said shafts the rotary motion of the latter does not affect the position of the frames, because the latterare loose relatively to the shafts.' Pulleys 42 are atiixed to shafts 38. and transmit rotation through belts 43 to pulleys 44. The latter pulleys are affixed to the shafts 36 that carry the cutter-heads. Both cutter-heads are driven in one direction7 as indicated by arrows in" paratus and is provided with a main pulf ley 5l. arranged to be driven by a main power belt (not shown). Each cutter-head isprovided with a depth gage. which is arranged to bear upon the billet. vThis gage may embody dierent forms. but for rough bark l prefer the sliding shoe as indicated at 47. 'lhe shoe is provided with an opening 47 through which the cutters 35 dip as the cutterhead rotates. Fig. 7 and 8 showing one of the cutters projecting below the bottom surface of the shoe so as to be capable of exercising its cutting action upon the billet. The shoe is provided with ears 48 and the latter are mounted upon .pivot studs 49. rlhese studs are carried by bars 50 that are adjustable up and down for the purpose of raising or lowering thc shoe relatively to the cutter-head so `as to vary the depth to ria'ge. which the cutters may operate.

`he cutter-heads ll, 1l, are identical in In the present instance the adjusting means for the depth gage comprises a turn buckle screw 86 having a hand wheel 87. The upper end of the screw has swivel connection with a coupling piece 88, and the lower end-has screw connection with a coupling piece 89. The coupling piece 88 is pivotally connected by trunnions 90 to a collar 92 on link 54, and coupling piece 89 is pivotally connected by trunnions 91 to ears 93 on a cross-bar 94 fastened to arms 37. This adjusting means and likewise arms 37 and link 54 partake of a parallel ruler Inotion to maintain the bars 50 in substantially vertical position.

Link 54 is pivotally connected to a stationary anchoring pin 55 to prevent longitudinal displacement of the shoes or dept-h gages 47. y

The shoes 47 are capable of lturning slightly about their pivot studs 49 in response to theY demands of irregularities in the surface of the billet upon which they slide, but they are normally held in a substantial horizontal position by springs 56. In the present instance each spring 1s anchored at its upper end to one of the bars 50, and at its lower end it is connected to the adi jacent ear 48. Between its ends the spring is coiled about the adjacent pivot stud 49 as shown by Fig. 8. The shoes are thereby adapted to tilt so as to maintain a suitable bearing upon an irregular .surface of the billet. and the cutter-heads are therefore due chattering. vEach cutter-head may rise and fall independently of thel other while traversing a` billet. and will follow the general contour of the surface upon which it is operating.

inasmuch as the shoe isu a substantially oblong structure. as viewed from above (see Fig. 9) its transverse portions 47 bear on the work in the path of the cutter. one being in advance of the cutter and serving to adjust the latter vertically according to projections about to be. encountered thereby.

.The cutter is thus relieved from too great a cutting burden in consequence of encountering stumps of branches and other lumps in its path.

trcadle 57 is provided for raising the cutter-heads through suitable connections now to be explained. This treadle is affixed to a rock shaft 58, and a bell-crank also afiixed to shaft 58 has arms 59 and 6u. The arm 59 is connected by link 6l to a cross bar 6;) that is aiiixed to arms 37 of one cutter head carrying frame. rm 60 of the said bell-crank is connected by a link 63 adapted to traverse the billet without unwith an arm 64 of another bell-crank (see Fig. The latter bell-crank has an arm 65 that is connected by link 66 with a' cross bar.67, the latter being aflixed to the arms 37 of the other cutter-head carrying frame.

' Whenl treadle 57 is depressed from" the position shown in Fig. 1 it lifts the two cutterheads in. unison, through the several levers and links just described. It is desirable to provide means for locking the treadle -in its depressed position so as to hold the cutterheads in their elevated position while removing one billet and Vputting another billet in its place. For this purposel provide a latch 68 (see Fig. 2). This latch ismounted upon a pivot member '68X and hangs from the latter. 4, The lower'portion of the latch is cut away to provide the shoulder .69. The

latch is arranged to'be. displaced-from its -normal vertical position by the foot portion of the treadlewhen the latter is de pressed, and when the said foot portion has reached a position lower than the shoulder 69 the latch swingsl back to its normal ver- 'tical position with the shoulder 69 overpendently of each other to follow thesur- -face of the billet is accounted for by the fact that there are several loose connections in the lifting mechanism, the aggregate lost motion of which is amplified by arms 37 in favor of the cutter heads.

Although vany suitable driving mechanism may be provided to operate'the-crank 15, Irwill describe the mechanism s hown,

because the lattergin'cludes a disconnectible clutch whereby the crank may abe 'disconnected from the' main power shaft vsimultaneously with the raising ofthe cutter heads'. As hereinbeforestated the shaft 38 shown 4in Fig.;1' is the main power shaft of the ap- ,l paratus. T he power for operating the crank 15 is transmitted from the main power lshaft to a clutch pulley 70 (Fig.4,) bymeans of a belt 71, said belt being driven by a pulleyv f 72 on shaft 38.

' Pulley 7 Ois loosely mounted upon a counter shaftl 73 which in the present instance is inline with crank shaft 16 but not directly connected to .thev latter. Shaft 73, ,when driven, rotates at aAA relativelyfhigh 'rate of speed, whereas the crankshaft when driven vrotates at a relatively s nlow speed, the reduc.

tion in s eed being caused by the back gearing hereinafter described.4

yAny suitable clutch pulley or other clutch may be'employed for driving shaft 73, and for the present vpurpose it'will be suicient to state that the pulley is clutched to and unclutched from the shaft by a-sliding collar 74. rllhis collar is 'movable longitudinally of the shaft and is normally pressed toward the pulley by a 'compression spring to maintain `driving connection between the pulley and the shaft. lVhen the collar is retracted from the pulley the latter is freed from the shaft and continues to rotate without driving the. shaft. A gear 76 is aliXed to the clutch shaft, and meshes with a gear 77. The latter gear and 'a pinion 7 8 are aliixed upon a counter shaft 79, pinion"'78.meshes'with a gear 8O that is affixedto crank shaft 16.'l

The clutch collar 74 is engaged by a shipper 81, which as shown by Fig. 3, is mounted upon a rock shaft 82. A bevel gear segment 83, aliXed to rock shaft 82, is arranged to oscillate by a companion segment 84. The

latter is affixed to the rock shaft 58 upon 'which the treadle 57 is mounted. Connections last described enable the clutch pulley to maintain driving connection with the crank shaft 16 so' long as the "cutter heads are in operative position, but when treadle 57 is'depressed to `raise the cutter heads the gear segments 83, 84C oscillate the shipper 81 in a direction thatjunclutches the pulley. It is thus possible tov arrest the traverse of thev feed carriage 110 simultaneously with lifting the cutter heads.

ln practice the attendantwould discon- A series of cutters 'into one.continuous cut, to

obtain a working capacity equal to the aggregate number of cutters without increasing the length of traver'se.

l claim:

comprising, in combination, a movable 1. A machine of the character described'l neet the clutch pulley at a'time thatl would work-support, a sliding shoe arranged to bear on the work, a pairof bars pivotallyv connectedto 'said shoe and extending upwardly therefrom,'saidbars having longitudinally extending slots'above the axis of the pivotal connection, a cutter-shaft extending through said slots, a 'rotary Vcutter aflixed is vjournaled, oscillatory ymeans substantially parallel to said cutter-frame and pivotally connected to said bars to maintain the latter iso f in .substantially vertical position, and adjustable means connecting said oscillatory means and the cutter-frame to adjust the lcutter-shaft up and down relatively to said journaled in the lower one of said links and arranged to operate on the work, and means arranged toadjust saidlinks to vary the efectiv-e cutting depth of the cutter relatively to the gage.

3*. A.machine of the character describedv comprising, in combination, a work-support,

. a tool-holder movable toward and from the work, means to guide the tool-holder in re,

spect to suchl movement, a rotary cutter mounted in said tool-holder, means to drive said cutter, means to causev relatilve-feeding movement of the Work-support and the toolholder to cut progressively alon the surface of the work, and a shoe pivotal y connected to the tool-holder on an axis between that of the cutter and the periphery of the latter,

said shoe having Work-engaging portions rarranged in the path of the cutter in advance of. and behind the latter, respectively, to

vary the depth of cut by irregularities of the work in the path of the cutter.

4. A machine of the character -described comprising, in combinatiom'a workfsupport, a tool-holder movable toward and from the work, means to guidethe tool-holder in respect to such movement, means to cause vrelav tive feeding movementy of the work-support and the tool-holder to cut progressively along the work, a shoe pivotally connected'to the tool-holder to tilt in operation, said shoe having work-engaging portions Varranged in advance of and behind the cutter, respectively, to determine the depth of cut by irregularities in the work traversed thereby, and-means to adjust said shoe bodily with respect to the tool-holder to vary the depth of cut otherwise than by the tilting action of the shoe.

5. A machine of the character described comprising, in combination, a movable work support, means arranged to reciprocate the latter, a rotary cutter head, a holder for said cutter head, said holder being arranged to be movable up and down over the work, an arm pivotally connected to said holder, said arm being arranged to swing up and down about an axis to raise and lower said cutter head, a link pivotally connected to said holder, an anchor pivot for said link, said link being arranged to maintain one angular position of said holder as the latter movesV up or down about said axis, and a v shoe carried by said holder and arranged to bear upon the work to determine the depth of cut.

6. A machine of the character described comprising, in combination, a movable work support, drive mechanism including a disconnectible clutch for reciprocating said work support, a tool holder arranged to be movable toward and from the work, and

manually operative means having connections .with said clutch and with said tool connect said clutch and retract said tool holder from the work.

7. A machine of the character described comprising, in combination, a movable work support, drive mechanism including a disconnectible clutch for reciprocating .said work support, a plurality of tool holders arranged to be movable independently of each other to follow theI contour of the work, andL manually operative means having c onnec-A tions with said clutch and with said tool holders, said means being arranged to disconnect said clutch and retract said tool holders from the work'.

8. A machine of the character described comprising, in combination, -a work-carriage, means mounted on said carriage to hold a cylindric piece of work with it's axis parallel to the linesof traverse of said car'- riage, a plurality of rotary cutters arranged in tandem relation to operate on the piece of work, means arranged to reciprocate said carriage to cause said cutters to cut courses parallel to said axis, said reciprocating means having a traverse sufficient to merge said courses one into another, and means arrangedto move said work-holding means at Vthe end of each traverseof said carriage to turn the piece of work about its axis.

9. In a machine of the character described, a cutter, means to guide'the cutter toward and from the work, means arranged to feed the work,a shoe arranged to bear on the work to sustain the cutter and to determine the depth of cut, said shoe having work-engaging'portions respectively in advance of and behind the cutter, pivotal means connecting the shoe and. cutter between said work-engaging portions, and a spring arranged to maintain the shoe normally in a median angular position parallel to the path of the work.

In testimony whereof I have aiixed my signature.

OLOF L. STADIGrv holder, said means being arranged to dis- 

